Contubernio
by lilahwilding
Summary: It is the day before Lisbon's wedding and Jane is struggling to accept her moving away. However, when the marriage takes a turn for the worst, with terrible consequences for the bride, will Marcus be able to handle the tragedy or will Jane have to take the responsibility of being the person Marcus can no longer bear to be?
1. Chapter 1- Ready

_**Contubernio**_

**Chapter 1- Ready**

Lisbon groaned as she struggled to reach the open zip of her wedding dress. She was in her office and she couldn't resist trying it on once again; it was, after all, only 24 hours till the big day: her wedding day to Marcus. In all honesty, she was shaking in nerves- this was probably one of the reasons that she was finding it so hard to do up her dress.

'You alright in there?' called Jane from just outside. She had confided in him that she was getting dressed and had made him stand guard outside her office in order to ensure that no one walked in on her either all dressed up or not dressed at all.

'Yeah,' she grunted, her voice sort of muffled. She was trying so hard to reach the zip on her back that she was walking in unsteady circles. If anyone looked through the window at her she would look an idiot.

'Jane,' she mumbled.

'Mm?'

'Can you come in here and help me… help me with my zip?' She bit her lip, regretting admitting to him how stupid she was being. She was fully aware of how personally Jane was taking this big change. She was, after all, getting married and moving away in a matter of days, leaving him behind. In a way, she felt bad and very guilty however then she reminded herself of the numerous times that Jane had walked out on her in the past. Still- he'd been a big part of her life for six years now and she wasn't sure how she'd be able to cope without seeing him everyday, without laughing at his jokes, without puzzling over his confusing plots and plans.

Jane paused for a few seconds before finally replying, 'okay.' He walked in and looked at Lisbon who determinedly avoided his gaze, staring at a spot somewhat to the left of him.

'Wow,' he breathed, 'you look…'

'Just shut up and help me with this,' sighed Lisbon. Jane shrugged and made his way towards her, trying not to think about the limited time he had left to spend with her.

Slowly but steadily, he zipped her up wile placing his other hand on her shoulder. He didn't want to take his hand off- he felt like she was slowly slipping away from him and letting her go would make the process a lot harder and a lot more painful.

He gulped before letting both of his hands fall limply to his side, 'well, there you go,' he said, trying his best to maintain that casual laid-back voice that had for so long been his initial tone.

As he walked out, Lisbon turned around quickly, 'uh, Jane.'

'Yeah,' he said, stopping in his tracks yet not turning around to look at her.

'I was just wondering, because, you see… well Marcus' brothers flight was cancelled so her isn't going to be able to make it to the wedding.'

'What a shame,' muttered Jane. The subject of the wedding was very uncomfortable to talk about for him.

'He's the best man,' continued Lisbon, 'but he can't come. So I was wondering, I mean, we were wondering, Marcus and I, if perhaps you could…'

'What, you want me to be your best man,' Jane turned around, raising his eyebrows. How more painful could either of them make it for him. They were already rubbing the prospect of them moving away together in his face by conversing about it in low nevertheless carrying whispers everywhere they went.

'If you want,' said Lisbon, looking at her feet.

Jane shook his head, 'no, I don't think I'll be able to.'

'Why?' Lisbon looked up, her brow furrowed.

'I'm just busy. I don't think I can go to the wedding at all.'

Lisbon's face fell almost like she was a balloon deflating, 'What? You seriously can't come? But, what are you busy doing.'

'Oh you know,' said Jane, waving his hand dismissively, 'work, cracking cases. Things like that.'

'And you're going to miss me getting married because of it?' Asked Lisbon indignantly.

Jane didn't answer. Of course, he didn't actually have anything to do. He just couldn't face it. He couldn't face watching her get married to a guy like Marcus. He wasn't sure why he didn't like Marcus. Perhaps it was mainly because he was so unlike him; he hadn't ever imagined Lisbon ending up with a man like Marcus- a man so unlike Jane himself.

'Lisbon, I'm sorry,' Jane murmured. Seeing her disappointment made his stomach clench uncharacteristically. He wasn't used to it. He didn't like it.

'But its my wedding,' whispered Lisbon, her voice high and quiet.

'Lisbon, I don't know what to say.'

'Well then don't say anything,' she shook her head and walked out, making sure to bump into his hard on the way. He was left with a pain in his shoulder and a tight knot in his stomach.

He had only been trying to save himself from ruining Lisbon's big day either by making rude comments about Marcus or having a breakdown however, somehow, he had made everything worse.

Lisbon and Marcus were due to set off right after the wedding so, if he wasn't going to the wedding, tonight was perhaps the last night he would ever get to spend with Lisbon. Unfortunately for him, she was still furious about him not being able to go to the wedding, 'it's the least you could do for me after everything I've done for you,' she snapped at him just before it was time to go home.

He wanted to say something, to make up, to make her stay for a little longer however at that moment, Pike walked in. Obviously he was coming to 'pick Lisbon up' and Jane knew that he only had seconds left with her.

'Well,' she grunted, 'bye Jane.'

'What?' He leapt off his sofa, 'are you going now?'

'Yes,' Lisbon nodded, eying Jane coldly.

'Oh, well then bye.' He watched her leave, feeling his insides writhe. Sitting back on his sofa, Jane tried his best to ignore how every fibre of his being was screaming in protest, begging her to comeback, or at least glance back at him, giving him one last chance to look at her again.


	2. Chapter 2- Wedding day

_**Chapter 2- wedding day**_

When Lisbon woke the next day, it took her a while to figure out why she felt so angry and upset. Then she remembered her encounter with Jane the previous evening. How dare he miss the most important day of her life. Wasn't he at all happy for her. She rolled over in bed and saw that Marcus was still asleep. She didn't wake him up; instead she merely gazed at him for a while. This was her future. This was going to be it for her- forever.

She wasn't sure why she was more nervous than excited. Perhaps the wash of anxiety sweeping over her right now was drowning all other emotions out. Lisbon sat up. It was a while before she realised she was clenching her fists so hard it hurt.

She couldn't get back to sleep so she got out of bed and got dressed despite the early hour. After cleaning her teeth, she gazed into the bathroom mirror. Her face seemed much older and much more lined than yesterday. She just wanted to get this wedding over with so that she could leave and forget about everything she cared for. It was painful enough for her to be saying goodbye to Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt (who were also attending the wedding) and even Kim, who she'd struck up a close friendship with over the past couple of weeks nevertheless bidding farewell to Jane was a whole different situation.

'Is something wrong sweetheart,' yawned Marcus as he joined her in the kitchen later that morning, 'you weren't in bed at half past six.'

Lisbon shrugged, 'just couldn't sleep.'

'Yeah,' Marcus smiled, 'it's hard to think of little else now the wedding is so near. Wow, at the end of today you're going to be Mrs Pike. Teresa Pike.'

Lisbon snorted, 'we'll be the Pikes.' Somehow, she wasn't fond of the name Teresa Pike, but that could be down to her reluctance to get married to a man she'd known for only a few weeks.

Marcus walked up from behind her and wrapped his arms teasingly around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. Huh, Jane had placed his hand on that shoulder only twelve hours ago.

'This is pretty big, huh,' whispered Marcus in her ear.

'I guess,' she inhaled deeply, 'well, I better get going soon. I'm going round Grace and Wayne's hotel because Grace said she'd help me with getting ready and everything.'

Marcus folded his arms, 'we're not getting married until midday. You really need to go now?'

'Yes,' said Lisbon bluntly, 'I'll see you in church.' She kissed her fiancée swiftly on the cheek before grabbing her coat and her bag.

Once out in the fresh air she looked around at the sky. It was cloudy and grey- it sort of reflected how she was feeling: pessimistic and apprehensive.

Grace was very helpful and, within a couple of hours, Lisbon was dressed and ready to go to the wedding which wouldn't be happening for another three hours.

'Sure you sure you're okay?' Inquired Grace for what felt like the hundredth time as she yet again spotted Lisbon's less than happy expression.

Lisbon nodded, 'yeah, yeah, course I am. Why wouldn't I be.'

'Well it's a pretty important day. It's okay to be a little nervous.'

'Were you nervous when you and Wayne got married?' Asked Lisbon eagerly, glad of an opportunity to forgive herself for feeling this way about her marriage.

Grace bit her lip, 'erm, no, not really. But only because it was such short notice and I knew it was meant to be. Wayne and I, we were sort of made for each other and, everytime we kissed, we could just tell it was going to lead somewhere amazing.'

'So you're saying that Marcus and I don't have that?' Challenged Lisbon, putting her hand on her hip rather like an irritated mother would normally do to a four-year-old child who'd just said something out of place.

'No, of course not,' Grace shook her head, 'every romance is different.'

'Sure,' Lisbon fidgeted uncomfortably.

As Grace made herself busy with perfecting Lisbon's hair by curling it one more time, she queried, 'so, you gunna tell me what's bothering you?'

'It's nothing,' said Lisbon earnestly, 'honest it's not important.'

'What is it?'

Lisbon took one shuddery breath before admitting, 'Jane isn't able to make it to the wedding.'

'You're kidding,' said Grace, 'whyever not?'

'He says it's work stuff,' sighed Lisbon, trying not to sound as upset as she really was.  
Grace nodded before saying, 'have you considered that the reason he's not going is actually, well, that it's you.'

'What do you mean? Lisbon frowned.

However Lisbon didn't get to hear Grace's reply for that second, Rigsby's voice sounded from the room next door, 'you both decent? I need to come in and get something.'

'Yeah you can come in,' replied Grace in an offhand tone, much unlike how she'd sounded when talking to Lisbon. The awkwardness and uncertainty had vanished and Lisbon was pretty sure that she was glad of a reason not to talk about Lisbon and Jane.

Jane was at the FBI, sat on his usual comfy couch.

Kim walked in wearing a bright red and, when she spotted him, frowned, 'aren't you going to get going soon, the wedding will be starting in an hour.'

Jane shook his head, 'I'm not going.'

'What?' Kim's eyes widened, 'you're kidding. Out of everyone who'd going, you mean the most to Teresa. Why aren't you going.'

'You want the truth?' Jane mumbled.  
Kim folded her arms suspiciously and sat down beside him, 'please.'

'Well,' sighed Jane, 'if you must know I can't stand to see her go. Today will be the last time I'll see her and I think it's better if I just stay away.'

'Wow I had no idea you felt like this,' said Kim, 'what's brought all of this on?'

Jane didn't answer straight away though eventually, he answered, 'what the hell now she's leaving it's not like I have anything to hide. The reason I can't stand to see her go is that, I've got used to her. For the past six years she's been there for me. Ever since my family died. She's become family to me and if she goes, I don't know how I'll survive.'

Kim's mouth was open a little,' I had no idea you felt like this. Why don't you tell her?'

'Because,' pressed Jane, speaking like Kim was being stupid, 'it's her wedding. If I tell her I'll just ruin everything. No good can come of it. She's happy now, marrying Marcus.' He said the last word in an evidently bitter tone.

Kim merely shook her head and said stubbornly, 'well I think she'd want to know. I've seen the way she looks at you when she thinks no one is looking. I'm telling you everything you feel about her, she feels about you.'

'What about me though?' Whispered Jane, sounding earnestly distressed, 'I can't just watch her walk up that alter and say yes to him. It'll kill me.'

'I think going to the wedding, perhaps getting a little drunk, will be much better for you than sitting all by yourself here, regretting everything you might have said, or might not have said, to her. Just my opinion.'

She then walked out the room, saying, 'the cab's leaving in five minutes. You'd better get a move on.'

Jane watched her go. He knew his gut instinct was telling him to go- but would he really be able to stand it?

'Hey, wait!' Jane ran out of the building but, to his dismay, the cab was already driving away. How was he going to get there now? He knew the address of the church where Lisbon was getting married but there was no way that he could drive there himself- he'd get lost and wouldn't turn up until the very end of the wedding. He had to find another cab, and quick.

'I can't believe he didn't come,' sniffled Lisbon as she peeked through the door at the church which was now full of all of the guests. There weren't many: only the closest family and friends of the bride and groom.

'It's time to go now,' said Cho, who was giving her away.

'But, Jane…' said Lisbon, her voice trailing away feebly.

'You already said, he's not coming,' said Cho. They linked arms and, much too soon, the door opened so that they could go in and she could walk down the isle.

She walked down, staring at the floor, refusing to let her eyes wander to the Jane-less crowd. When she stood side by side with Marcus, he gave her an encouraging smile which she returned however it looked more like a grimace.

The priest marrying them seemed to take forever nevertheless, when he asked Marcus, 'do you take Teresa Lisbon to be your lawfully wedded wife,' Lisbon felt her eyes sting, and she didn't know why.

'I do,' replied Marcus, beaming.

'And Teresa,' he turned to Lisbon, 'do you take Marcus Pike to be your husband.'

Lisbon found that her mouth was very dry. She was about to reply when the door opened and someone came in, panting.

She looked around to find that it was none other than Jane, 'sorry,' he said, 'traffic's a nightmare. You two just carry on.'

Lisbon felt a smile stretch across her face and, for a split second, he met Jane's eyes.

'Lisbon?' whispered Mike.

'Hm?'

The priest repeated, 'do you take this man to be your husband?'

Lisbon nodded and said, 'I d-'

_However she never got to finish her sentence…_


	3. Chapter 3- disaster

_**Chapter 3- disaster**_

_The priest repeated, 'do you take this man to be your husband?'_

_Lisbon__nodded and said, 'I d-'_

_However she never got to finish her sentence…_

* * *

In that instant, Lisbon's words were interrupted by a loud ominous crack from above. Instinctively, everyone in the room looked up curiously. There was a very large crack on the ceiling above, and it was widening. For one second, everyone watched it uncertainly, wondering what was going to happen. Then, after a cloud of dust showered over them, making them all cough, violently, another crack echoed around the hall- a much bigger one.

Lisbon had completely forgotten about the fact that she was yet to say 'I do.' With one, loud, final crack, the ceiling imploded and rocks the size of baby elephants came tumbling down. Everyone in the room screamed and ran out of their seats to make sure that they were safe.

Lisbon gasped and tried her best to get away however, no sooner had she made to leap off the alter in her bid to safety, when a huge and heavy rock crashed down, crushing the floor and trapping Lisbon's left foot.

Lisbon howled in pain and terror as she tried to yank her foot free however the rock was crushing it. It felt like every bone in her foot was on fire. She could hardly remember a time when she'd felt this much pain.

She was screaming, crying, and hyperventilating all at the same time.

'Help, please, help,' she cried, tears rolling frantically down her cheeks. Out of the dust came Jane.

Panic-stricken, he knelt down beside Lisbon and held up her upper body, 'Teresa, it's ok, I've got you,' he said, sounding not at all his usual calm self. He was shaking and clutching her close to him.

From the corner of Lisbon's blurry and confused eye, she saw Marcus standing in the corner of the room, dumbstruck and shocked though too scared to venture out to the alter in case more rocks came falling down.

'Jane,' whispered Teresa, 'am I going to die?'

Jane shook his head frantically, 'no, no, of course you're not. You're going to be fine. Please Teresa, stay with me.' But Lisbon's eyes were closing, everything around her seemed to merge into one another and her gaze kept slipping in and out of focus.

Noticing her sudden silence, Jane looked around at everyone else, finally shouting at Marcus, 'someone, call an ambulance. Please she needs an ambulance. Do it!'

He didn't know whether anyone had done as he had said though he really hoped so. The cloud of dust rising above them made it hard to see anyone at all. All he could see was Lisbon who'd become worryingly limp.

How long did she have left?

How long would it take for an ambulance to arrive?

He held up one of the hands that had been holding her and found that it had been drenched in blood. The very sight of it made him want to throw up.

I shook his head, hardly daring to believe what was happening.

_Why Lisbon? Why did it have to be her?_

Jane pressed himself to Lisbon, cradling her in his arms as if this would somehow heal her. He rocked her back and forth, screwing his eyes up as tight as they would allow. His breathing was uneven and shaky, quite unlike Lisbon's slow, faint breathing.

'Don't worry, Lisbon,' Jane told her, though he wasn't sure whether she could hear him anymore; she didn't seem to be properly present, 'I'm here. I've got you. Everything's going to be just fine. You just hang in there. I'll be here. I'll be right here. Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay with you, and look after you, and make sure everything is fine, okay?'

To his relief, the sound of sirens could be heard distantly. Finally help had come.

At last.

People were shouting, coming in. They were close, almost here. They had found Lisbon. A crowd of doctors, nurses and who knew who else were crowding around, taking Lisbon from Jane's arms and working together to dislodge her foot. Jane stayed nearby, determined not to let Lisbon out of his site until he was certain that she was going to be ok.

As Lisbon got carried out, Jane followed in a panic, his hands on his neck.

_Please be alright Teresa, please be alright_.

Him and Marcus followed the stretcher upon which Lisbon lay outside. As she went into the ambulance, Jane turned to the nearest doctor and made his way to talk to them urgently however Pike got there first.

'His she going to be alright?' he asked the doctor.

The doctor tilted his head, a grave expression on his face, 'it's too soon to tell. Things don't look good though; she's lost so much blood.'

'No,' said Jane, shaking his head, 'please, just do whatever you can. I don't care how long it takes. Just fix her, fix her now.'

'We can't make any promises.'

'Well make them!' shouted Jane, all pretence lost, 'she is not going to die, you hear me?' The doctor didn't reply but instead went into the ambulance which drove away. Jane was fuming, how dare the doctor act so calm; he probably saw Lisbon as just another patient. Well she wasn't. She was the most important person in the world.

Jane was in the middle of the road, watching the ambulance go, his hands on his head. He was completely lost it. His breathing was shallow and panicky, every bone on his body screaming as though it had been him who had been crushed.

'No, no,' he spluttered between breaths.

He dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands. All of the other gusts were milling around, confused and wondering where to go next.

Jane felt like ripping all of his hair out- ripping Marcus' hair out, doing something to hurt him. Yet somehow he felt too weak to even get up at the moment. The impact what had just happened had hit him.

He leaned down even further so that his face was almost pressed against the road.

_Please not Teresa. Please not Teresa._


	4. Chapter 4- The penalty

**Chapter 4- the penalty**

Lisbon lay on a soft white hospital bed, asleep, broken. From the next room watched Jane and Marcus, neither of them speaking to the other. Lisbon had just come out of surgery but she hadn't awoken yet. Jane had no idea how her reaction would be when she finally did wake up.

Marcus' eyes were wide and Jane was sure that he hadn't blinked at all for the past few minutes. Jane wondered how all of the other guests were. In the attempt to save the wedding, Kim had insisted they all go round her house (where the after-party had been due to start) and wait for news on Lisbon. If Lisbon did come out of hospital sooner than expected, there was a chance that the party could still happen- but the wedding: Jane had no idea about that.

Marcus seemed almost scared of Lisbon – the way he stared at her was almost cautious, as though fearing her.

Jane knew that this accident wouldn't change who Lisbon was, though he admitted that she was definitely going to be shocked and perhaps a little shaken.

The doctor that had spoken to them outside the ambulance walked up towards Jane and Marcus and said, 'you can go in now. She'll be waking up in a couple of minutes.'

Marcus gulped however Jane immediately walked in, though rather slower than he usually would've done. He approached Lisbon and, when he saw her face, took a sharp intake of breath. Her eyes were closed; they hadn't yet faced the consequences of the wedding. Jane drew up a chair and sat close to her, tucking her hair tenderly behind her ear so that there was none on her face.

From the next room, Marcus stood frozen, not really sure where to go or what to do. He didn't even know what he wanted anymore. He had planned it all out: him and Lisbon, a life together, living happily, both with stable jobs. He had never at all imagined this would happen- not in a million years.

Lisbon stirred and Jane's eyes grew wider. This was it, she was waking up.

She grunted as her eyes opened a crack. Her brow furrowed as the bright light of the hospital ward hit her.

'Hey,' Jane whispered as her head turned and her gaze found him.  
'Hi,' she replied in a low quiet tone. Then, she remembered about what had happened at the wedding. She tried to sit up quickly but Jane placed a hand on her shoulder.

'Easy there,' he murmured.

Lisbon gulped and shook her head, 'the wedding. The- what happened?' She looked up and saw Marcus staring at her through the window. His fearful expression made her wonder what on earth had happened. All she could remember was a stabbing pain in her foot and then she had completely blacked out.

She looked at Marcus and then immediately down at her left foot, despite Jane's small protest. She then saw it, the reason Jane was acting so compassionate, the reason Marcus wasn't daring to approach her.

Her left foot was gone.

All that was there was an ugly, stitched up stump.

She suddenly began to struggle against Jane's hand, her breathing rapid and jumpy.

'No, Jane,' she wailed as she grabbed his hand and tried to push him away.

'Lisbon please,' said Jane, tears cascading down his own face, 'you're alive and that's what matters.'  
'No,' Lisbon shook her head, 'the wedding. Everything is ruined.'  
Jane looked around at Pike and gestured for him to come in- perhaps he could calm Lisbon down. Marcus hesitantly made his way into the room however when he came close enough to see the stitches, he shook his head and screwed up his eyes in pain.

'I can't do this,' he hissed, 'I can't.'

'Marcus,' said Lisbon pleadingly, crying uncontrollably.

'I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry.' Pike backed away slowly until he hit the wall. There was no mistaking it now: he definitely looked scared. Jane thought that this was the worst way possible to make Lisbon feel better. She was panting and sobbing at the same time, hardly daring to believe that Marcus had changed so much in such a small amount of time.

Marcus fumbled for the door handle for a few seconds before frantically opening it and scurrying outside. Lisbon watched him go, howling in uncontainable despair.

'Lisbon,' Jane soothed her. Still crying, she buried her head in his chest, trembling and grasping his arms so that they hurt.

Jane couldn't stand to hear her like this. He held her, promising to himself that he would see her through this even if Marcus wouldn't.

Jane had been right: the wedding day had descended into chaos. Whether that was down to him or merely the old and unstable building in which it had occurred, he hadn't yet worked out. Still, he was too angry with Pike right now to dwell on that. How could he have just abandoned Lisbon. Jane didn't know where he'd gone and he didn't know when him and Lisbon would see him again or if indeed, they would even see him again. Had he fled? Chickened out, perhaps?

Either way he was being cowardly.

He was supposed to be Lisbon's fiancée and he was refusing to be there for her, leaving Jane to be the shoulder she was crying on.

But then again, perhaps Jane liked it this way. He'd missed being so important to Lisbon and he'd missed being the one she'd retreat to whenever she was troubled.

However it didn't stop him wishing that she was alright and that none of this had happened in the first place.

Lisbon should've been at the after-party right now, enjoying herself, enjoying her new marriage. Now though, there was no marriage, no Marcus and possibly no party at all.


	5. Chapter 5- Recovery

**Hey, thanks for the reviews so yeah. I know it's been pretty sad and unfortunate for all of the characters so far but I think this chapter is a little different. And also, for jisbon shippers, some good news:)**

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_**Chapter 5- recovery**_

_It was ten days later…_

'Look Jane!' Laughed Lisbon.

It was the very first time that she'd smiled since Marcus had left. The nurse had given her a prosthetic foot so that se could learn to walk again. She wasn't perfect at it yet but at least her was out of bed. She'd just taken four steps and had looked excitedly up at Jane who had been watching from the next room. He smiled encouragingly through the glass and gave her the thumbs up. It was great to find that she had something to celebrate after she'd spent the last week crying. In the end she'd fallen strangely silent.

Now however, she was beaming like the past few days had never happened. 'Come in here!' she said.

Jane was a little anxious nevertheless he walked in to support her. She staggered a bit and then let go of the nurse who she'd been holding onto in order to keep stable. Putting her arms up either side of her in order to balance, she tried to approach Jane. He helped by walking closer to her. She had almost made it when she stumbled and almost fell into him. He caught her quickly.

'Oh, sorry,' she mumbled as he helped her get upright again.

'It's fine,' he chuckled.

She smiled, 'thanks for staying here. I can't believe you're putting up with this.'

'Putting up? I have no idea what you mean,' he smiled and kissed her head affectionately. Lisbon tried her best not to blush though she couldn't deny that a big wash of emotion was flooding through her at the moment, cleaning out any memory of Marcus.

Thankfully, Lisbon was going to be let out the following day meaning that she was free to see everyone again. Her first stop was to be Kim's house where the after party would be taking place. Nevertheless none of the people who were waiting at Kim's actually knew about Marcus' reaction. They were probably expecting Lisbon to turn up with Pike; not Jane.

However when she did arrive, everyone was delighted to see her all the same. They all looked expectantly at her.

'Where's Marc?' Asked someone eagerly.

Lisbon smiled and shrugged, 'dumped him in the hospital.'

Everyone looked startled and some were shaking their heads.

'What?' Asked Wiley folding his arms.

'Hey,' smiled Lisbon, 'so what, the wedding didn't happen. That doesn't mean we still can't throw the mother of all parties. Come on.'

With some help from Jane, she made her way around the chattering crowd, talking animatedly to each of them in turn. The party was just like it would have been if the wedding had been successful- music, food, and a lot of drink. Lisbon even got to throw a bouquet of flowers into the crowd which, after many frantic scrambles to get at it, was caught by Kim.

She giggled in a triumphant sort of way.

'Congratulations,' laughed Lisbon.

She hugged her and, making sure that no one was around, whispered in Kim's ear, 'happily ever afters don't exist.'

Kim didn't reply though her smile had faltered a little bit.

Lisbon drank much more than she usual would at a party. She wanted to drown all bad feelings out. She had no idea what she was going to do now. Continue work at the FBI like nothing had happened and like she'd never met Marcus? That seemed like the best option, though she doubted her job would be as exciting what with this stupid prosthetic foot.

'Where's Jane?' she asked Rigsby at almost midnight.

'Erm,' said Rigsby, looking around, 'outside I think.' Lisbon looked out the window. Jane was in fact, in the garden.

'Jane what are you doing out here?' She asked as she waddled unevenly towards him.

He turned around to smile at her, 'Lisbon. Oh, I was just getting some fresh air. You know me, can't be in a crowded place for too long.'

Lisbon shook her head, smiling, 'you were great, staying in the hospital. I don't think I would've have been able to stand it without you buying that food from the supermarket. Hospital meals are terrible.'

She finally got to stand next to him. She followed his gaze and looked up at the stars.

'One minute till midnight,' she sighed, 'you know we- Marcus and I- said that we were going to have our first kiss as a married couple at midnight. Now though, I don't see how that's going to happen.'

'Yeah well for one thing you're not married,' Jane pointed out, 'though it doesn't mean you can't kiss at midnight.'

Lisbon frowned, 'what do you mean.'

'Close your eyes,' Jane told her softly.

Not really sure about where this was heading exactly, Lisbon did as she was told. She heard the sound of distant cars, of music, of muffled laughing voices.

She heard Jane slowly counting down till midnight, 'five, four, three, two…'

Instead of one, she felt his lips softly brush hers. Every cell in her body felt ecstatic. To show Jane that she was ok with it, she held his head, running her fingers through his golden hair.

They pressed their bodies up against each other, as if trying to make up for the last six years of concealing their feelings from each other.

Lisbon had had no idea this day would ever come. Now it was here though, she didn't want to stop kissing him.

Drunk and dizzy, Kim staggered into the garden, giggling, dragging a slightly nervous but very excited Wiley with her. Then they both caught sight of Jane and Lisbon. Kim's mouth dropped open. After staring for another couple of seconds just to make sure it was their colleagues making out and they weren't hallucinating, Kim led Wiley back inside, leaving Jane and Lisbon together, unaware that they'd been disturbed by anyone.

When they finally broke apart, it was to find that Lisbon was crying silently.

'You okay?' asked Jane uncertainly, 'boy I know I haven't had a proper relationship since my wife but I didn't know I was that bad a kisser.'

Lisbon beamed and giggled in a way that Jane wouldn't have believed possible from her, 'oh Patrick you idiot. It's just, I've been waiting six years for this, and it's everything I wanted it to be. It's a little overwhelming.'

Jane broke into a wide smile, 'you called me Patrick.'

'Yeah, yeah I did.'

He held her waist and continued the kiss, not ever wanting to let her go again.


	6. Chapter 6- Rewind

**Sorry, a little bit shorter than it would usually be but its the last one so now it's complete :) please review if you liked it or even if you didn't- any feedback means a lot**

* * *

**_Chapter 6- rewind_**

Jane walked into work in a much brisker pace than usual, an ecstatic grin on his face. With his chin held high, he walked into the office and sat on his couch, waiting for all of his colleagues to arrive. Today they were going to inspect the ongoing investigation of a man who'd been found dead in an alleyway behind a club- he'd probably got into a drunken fight or something, or at least that was Jane's prediction (and he was usually right about these things).

It wasn't long before Kim arrived, massaging her head, 'how can you be smiling,' she groaned as she spotted Jane's face.

'It's a nice day,' he answered simply, before taking a look at Kim and saying, 'had a bit too much to drink last night, then?'

She shook her head, screwing up her eyes, 'please, don't speak so loud.'

'Remember anything from the party?' Queried Jane as Kim sat down in a chair nearby, putting a hand to her forehead.

Kim shook her head, 'not really. Sometimes little bits of it come back to me. I was so drunk and stupid, I remember getting off with someone though in the spare bedroom. I can't remember who though.'

Jane nodded, 'I think loads of people got off with each other last night.'

'Did you- you know- do it with anyone?' Kim asked him.

'Erm, I didn't do it but the night wasn't completely uneventful.'

'Is that why you're in such an annoyingly good mood?' growled Kim in an irritated sort of way, her eyes closed as if this would somehow lessen the pounding pain in her head.

Before either of them could say another word though, Cho walked in, looking perfectly sober and perfectly alert.

'How can you not be dying?' said Kim in an exasperated tone, 'you drank as much as me last night.'

'I don't think anyone drank as much as you.'

Kim pulled a face at Cho behind his back before turning as Wiley walked in. At the sight of him, Kim gazed, frowned, and then stood up abruptly, her hands over her mouth.

'What?' She yelled.

'It's nice to see you too,' replied Wiley, sitting down at his own desk.

Kim shook her head, 'no, no, it was you. It was you I- you know. Oh god…'

'I know that,' Wiley bowed his head, seeming much cooler than he normally would have done after banging a woman with standards as high as Kim. Jane would have thought he'd have been over the moon about it. Cho had thought that Wiley had been a virgin but, if he had been, last night would have been a bigger deal to him.

'But, but,' Kim spluttered.

'Look,' said Wiley, almost in a bored tone (quite uncharacteristic of him), 'we were drunk stupid. It was no biggie- could have happened to anyone.'

The door opened once more and in walked Lisbon. At once Jane stood up. What was he going to say to her?

'Okay,' said Wiley, addressing everyone in the room, 'lets just leave these two to it.'

'Why,' asked Kim indignantly.

'You really don't remember?' Asked Wiley, his eyebrows raised.

Kim crossed her arms and then, as it hit her, said, 'oh… okay.'

Kim, Wiley and Cho all walked out, leaving Jane and Lisbon alone together.

'Hi,' he said, awkwardly.

She smiled warmly, 'hi.'

She tried to approach him but was unsuccessful and ended up staggering and tripping, once again, into Jane's arms.

'Guess I've gotta get used to this,' she murmured.

'You and me both,' Jane smiled.

'Yeah,' said Lisbon quickly, 'that's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about. Look, I understand completely if you just want to forget about last night. I mean, we were drunk.'

But Jane interrupted her before she could go on any further, 'Teresa, I wouldn't have missed it for the world.'

She beamed, 'really?'

Jane nodded, 'Lisbon everything I said, everything I did, I meant it. I- I'm not good at saying this but,' he leant in closer and whispered in her ear, 'I love you.'

Lisbon's eyes widened and then she held her hands to her cheeks, 'oh my god, really?'

'Yeah.'

'Oh my god. Oh my god, I do to,' she leant in and kissed him quickly. After pulling back a little bit, she looked once more into his eyes, which were scanning her, almost reading her.

A second passed where they said nothing, and then they kissed again, for much longer. Passionately, they wrapped their arms around each other, unaware that Cho, Wiley, Kim and even Abbott were staring at them, their noses pressed against the glass that separated the rooms, looking completely dumbstruck.


End file.
